"Even my aura is dangerous, let alone my touch." She just leaned on the Headmaster's desk, crushing it as if it had been made of paper. "I'll stay here until I can at least restrain my new powers. Once I master them, I can finally start my war!"
***
Blood Desert, night ti.
Contrary to Lith's hopes, by dinner ti Tista had yet to recover. The mont their parents noticed her absence they demanded and obtained an explanation.
"I can't believe you two have been so stupid as to endanger her life!" It wasn't the first ti that Raaz scolded Lith, but for Salaark it was a new experience. "You are supposed to be her wise brother and guide Tista, not to use her as a test subject!
"As for you, what kind of a Guardian can't even protect her own blood? You brought us here boasting about how much you care for my children and look what you've done!"
Salaark would have liked the reply that it had been Tista's idea and that all she had done was to act as a lifeline, but as a parent, she knew that there was no logic good enough to justify what had happened.
"I'm really sorry, Dad. I know that I have no excuses. Tista and I now share the sa problem. We are the only two mbers of a new race and we let it go to our head. I shouldn't have let her try sothing so dangerous." Lith said.
"If not for the fact that you both are taller than and that I would likely break my hand, I would give you two a good spanking!" Elina pointed at Tista and Lith. "When can we be sure that everything is fine?"
"We already know. Everything is fine." Salaark replied.
"Unstable life forces crumble quickly whereas Tista's condition has remained stable for hours. The only precaution we must take is to make her rest for a few days until no trace of the trauma remains."
Tista stirred in her bed, trying to rember the reason why she felt as if soone had kicked her to Lutia and back.
"Gods, I'm aching even in places I didn't think they could ache." She said while using her breathing technique to check upon her body and finding it normal. "The silver lining in this ss is that what we learned today can help Nalrond.
"On top of that, if the kids ever reach the blue core, we can properly explain to them the dangers of a split life force without the risk of it looking cool. The most important thing is that Mom and Dad must never-"
The Hush spell that had let her rest undisturbed had also kept her from noticing the other people in the room.
"What were you saying, sweetie?" Raaz crossed his arms, angered by Tista's attempt to cover her ss up.
"What are you two doing here? Weren't you supposed to watch the sunset paint the dunes red or sothing like that?" She asked.
"We were and we did. We need to talk, young woman!" Her parents first made sure that she was really okay and then scolded Tista for her recklessness.
"First, I'm an adult and you can't tell what I can't do anymore. Second, knowledge and risks often go hand in hand. How can I learn sothing about my beast half if-"
She choked on her speech as her parents played the forbidden card.
"You have no idea how scared we had been, seeing you lay motionless on the bed. We felt just like back when you were a kid and suffered from the Strangler. We were afraid of losing you forever." Elina and Raaz started to cry, holding their daughter as if she might fall dead at any mont.
At that point, all that Tista could do was to apologize and promise to be more careful in the future.
Lith and Salaark exploited the mont to sneak away.
"Do you think they are overreacting?" Lith asked.
"Kid, if our situation was reversed, I would be kicking their ass into oblivion. We got off easy." The Guardian replied. "I'll have their dinner served in Tista's room but we must dine with the others or the kids will get scared."
Once the food arrived on the table, Lith discovered to be starving. Between the scare and his experints with the orc crystal, he had skipped lunch. The Heavenly Plu tribe was used to feeding Phoenixes so the chefs had no problem serving him a al big enough to make up for the lost ti.
During and after dinner, Lith used the Sentry he had left with his sister to check up on her from ti to ti.
'I guess you were right back at the gala. Not even the presence of a Guardian is enough to ease my paranoia.' Lith said via the mind link.
'Speaking of which, maybe you should make a few calls. I'm afraid that the Balkor copycat might have made another move but we don't know about it because people don't want to ruin your vacation.' She replied.
Solus hadn't thought about the Balkor cards for days until Tista's failed experint had made her rember Lark's and Mirim's death.
Lith imdiately called Vastor who reassured him that everything was okay.
"Yet I share your fears. The only reason why nothing bad has happened is that the surveillance is as tight as your wallet" The Professor said. "The Balkor copycat doesn't attack only because they lack the opportunity.
"By the way, how was your eting with Xenagrosh? She seed pretty happy about spending quality ti with you."
"It was interesting. I still find it a bit creepy hanging with strangers that treat like a mber of their family, but I'm getting used to it." After a bit of chatting, Lith called Xenagrosh as well just to hear from her.
'I must get rid of my bad habit of forgetting about people unless I need sothing from them. I still can't believe that Marth didn't invite to his wedding nor did he tell about the baby until the gala.' He thought.
'It's not like you can bla him. Marth always called you for your birthday and whenever he was worried about you. Yet you never went to visit him even after getting your own personal Gate.' Solus replied.
At those words, Lith shapeshifted into his human form and called Marth for the first ti in years.
"What can I do for you, Lith?" The Headmaster didn't even raise his hands from the paperwork on his desk, expecting it to be a business call, like always.
"Just tell how are you doing, Duke. How long until I can et Manohar junior?" Lith said with a chuckle, making Marth fall from his chair.
It was hard to tell if he was more surprised by the unexpected social call or by the na Lith had called the child with.
"Please, don't you ever say that again! Manohar is dead set on forcing his na upon my firstborn and Ryssa finds our quarreling so funny that she sides with him from ti to ti to not let the argunt die!"
"You are the closest thing he has to a friend. I find it sweet that Manohar wants to be part of your life…" Lith replied.
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